Notes: Fox shines in Summer League debut, Kings fall to Suns 89-85

Notes: Fox shines in Summer League debut, Kings fall to Suns 89-85

The Sacramento Kings No. 5 pick, De’Aaron Fox, made his Summer League debut and had himself a great night leading the team 18 points, three rebounds, four assists, five steals and one block while shooting 43.8 percent from the field (7-of-16). Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get the team the win as the Kings fall to the Suns 89-85.

It was an overall solid night from the Kings’ young guys – sophomores and rookies. Second-year shooting guard Buddy Hield showed off the work he has done early this offseason. He was scoring off of the dribble, making hard drives to the basket and showing aggression on the offensive end of the floor. Hield did, however, struggle from beyond the arc, as he finished the night 0-of-6 from 3-point range.

Malachi Richardson finished with eight points and three rebounds while shooting 28.6 percent from the field (2-of-7) in 24 minutes of action. This was Richardson’s first game back since suffering a season-ending ACL tear, so perhaps this was a game of rust. The shooting guard showed signs of his college mistakes. Richardson’s shot selection was less than desired and you can tell he was trying to force his way out of his early offensive rut. Defensively, he had his moments but the consistency on that end of the floor was not there.

Skal Labissiere played a team-high 28 minutes, but he did not seem to take advantage of the of time he had on the floor finishing with just 10 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal and two blocks while shooting 44.4 percent from the field (4-of-9). The forward did have his hands full trying to control a spry Marquese Chriss, so that could explain a bit of the . After a strong end to the 2016-17 season, most are hoping to see a big leap Labissere’s second year. Summer League play also tends to show off more skill to the guards rather than the big men, so no one should read too much into just one game.

The No. 15 pick, Justin Jackson, had himself a solid debut finishing with 18 points, two rebounds and a block while shooting 63.6 percent from the field (7-of-11) and 66.7 percent from 3-point range (2-of-3). The forward showed off a little bit of everything in his game. He was attacking defenders off of the dribble, showing off his soft floater, knocking down open jumpers and playing within the offense. The defensive energy was there, but it did seem at times he would occasionally get lost in the set, jump on pump fakes and try too hard to make something happen.

Frank Mason III could not knock down a shot in this one, finishing with just four points and four rebounds on 22.2 percent (2-of-9) shooting from the field, but he showed signs of what he could bring to the Kings next season. Mason never seemed rushed; even under pressure the guard looked composed. He was attacking the defensive with grit and wasn’t afraid of making contact down in the paint. Mason’s finishing ability is something to keep an eye on through the rest of Summer League, but in his 17 minutes even though the stat sheet may not show it, the former Kansas’ product showed why the Kings were high on him on draft night.

Big man Jack Cooley was one of the Kings’ standouts, finishing the night with 11 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block while shooting 80 percent from the field (4-of-5) and 75 percent (3-of-4) from the free throw line in 23 minutes. Cooley was the only player for both teams to finish with a double-double. In college, the big man finished his senior year at Notre Dame averaging 13.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He’s not the most athletic of the bunch, but Cooley knows how to use his body and take up space on the floor. On multiple defensive possessions, Cooley showed his basketball I.Q. by putting his hands straight up to stop drives to the basket. He’s going to be a player fighting to get a training camp invite and if he can continue to play at this level, there’s a good chance he could earn one.

Lastly, there was De’Aaron Fox. The point guard showed off everything you could ask for in his Summer League debut. All eyes will continue to monitor his jump shot, but there were multiple times in the game where Fox looked like his jumper was never a problem. Fox would swiftly get to the high-block, have his defender on his hip, create space with a step-back and knock down the mid-range jumper. The former Wildcat also showcased his lighting-fast speed – In one play to end the third quarter, the point guard traveled from one end to the floor to the other in less than six seconds, and then floated the ball in to tie the game. It’s just one game, but Kings’ fans are feeling even more excited about their team’s potential future with Fox as their point guard.

Additional Note:

The Kings had a total of nine DNP-CD’s, including the team’s 20th overall pick in this year’s draft Harry Giles. We could see the coaching staff look to shake their lineups and rotations on a game-by-game basis, and minutes jump around between Giles, Labissere and Cooley. Sacramento plays again on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. (pst) against the Memphis Grizzlies.